Working from the plot for an unwritten novel found in the files of the late Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins ( Road to Perdition) has fashioned a compelling noir thriller that is vintage Mike Hammer all the way.

Mike Hammer, the toughest PI of all, draws a seemingly routine assignment--playing bodyguard to diva Rita Vance on the eve of her big Broadway comeback. But Rita is an old flame of Hammer's, and when their romance is rekindled, the detective finds the actress facing death threats and himself the target of one hit man after another. When the actress disappears, the show must go on, which with Mike Hammer means swift, violent retaliation. While the cops and feds go down a false trail, Hammer seeks to make a rescue before Rita's curtain comes down. But first he must make sense of a mystery that takes him from a Soho art gallery to a mountain lodge, from Little Italy to a waterfront confrontation that is way, way off Broadway.

About the Author&colon;

FRANK MORRISON SPILLANE (1918-2006) introduced his signature detective character, Mike Hammer, to readers in 1947 with I, the Jury and went on to sell more than 225 million copies of his books internationally. He was named a British Crime Writers Association Grand Master in 1995.

MAX ALLAN COLLINS is the author of the acclaimed graphic novel Road to Perdition, which became the Academy Award winning Tom Hanks film. A New York Times bestselling author, he has won two Best Novel ''Shamus'' awards from the Private Eye Writers of America for his 'Nathan Heller' series. He was Spillane's choice to work with his estate to complete a number of unfinished Mike Hammer novels.

Reader Bio: STACY KEACH is perhaps best known for his portrayal of hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer. More recently, he played Ken Titus on the sitcom Titus, Warden Henry Pope in the hit series Prison Break, and has been seen in numerous film and stage productions. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ernest Hemingway, and starred as Richard Nixon in the US National Tour of Frost/Nixon. His recent performance in the title role of King Lear has received international acclaim.